|
Green
Acres?
Most major developments promise myriad
green components. A reality check of three projects
shows that those promises can be hard to sustain
By Jonathan Graham
1. GO SELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
UniverCity at Simon Fraser University
It's tough to go first. In 2002, when
building began on the initial phase of what will eventually
be more than 4,500 units with 10,000 residents atop
Burnaby Mountain, green dreams were deflated by economic
realities. “When we started the project, developers
in Vancouver weren’t willing to do it,”
says lead architect Norm Hotson, who attended those
early meetings. “Later, though, they realized
they had to start doing it because the public started
to demand it.”
The university and the developers—which have included
Millennium, Intergulf, and Polygon—were concerned
that the project would create massive changes in how
water flowed down the slope and into the Stoney Creek
watershed. In response, they devised one of the leading
stormwater retention and purification systems in the
country; the claim it’s 97% successful in maintaining
the same runoff as before development. “The stormwater
runoff and how it was dealt with would set the tone
for the community,” says Gordon Harris, head of
the SFU Community Trust, the university agency charged
with overseeing the development of what is essentially
a new Burnaby suburb.
The first phase of UniverCity is being completed this
year, and planners admit it has not achieved the energy-efficiency
standards that are becoming the norm. The developers
were reluctant to incorporate energy-saving measures
into construction, so the university created green building
“guidelines” instead of regulations. Some
buildings include elements like geothermal heating,
but other green touches like dual-flush toilets and
in-floor radiant heating were dropped. The second phase,
due for completion in 2015, will be more energy-efficient,
as it will meet guidelines adopted in 2008. The trust
won’t demand compliance with LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design, an international
standard that measures buildings’ energy efficiency
and environmental sustainability) because of concerns
that, though it’s the global standard, it’s
“cumbersome” in the context of wood-framed
houses, mixed-use buildings, and local conditions.
UniverCity won the American Planning Association’s
inaugural National Excellence Award for Innovation in
Green Community Planning this year, and intends to apply
for LEED’s newest “Neighbourhood District”
certification. The soon-to-be-built daycare centre will
attempt to achieve “Living Building” standards,
which would make it completely self-sustaining.
But can green buildings outside the urban core really
be environmentally sustainable? Planners point out that
30 percent of residents are connected to nearby SFU,
and 30 to 40 percent of residents commute to work or
school using transit. A diesel bus shuttles residents
from the town square to the SkyTrain station, and Harris
hopes that one day a gondola service will link the two
stops.
|
SUBSCRIBE 
